Boundary condition of grounding lines prior to collapse, Larsen-B Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Rebesco, Michele; Domack, Eugene W.; Zgur, F.; Lavoie, Caroline; Leventer, Amy; Brachfeld, Stefanie; Willmott, Verónica; Halverson, Galen P.; Truffer, Martin; Scambos, Ted; Smith, James A; Pettit, E. C.

doi:10.1126/science.1256697

Cited by 52 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Comparing high-resolution bathymetric mapping of the seabed exposed by nAP-wide ice shelf loss and glacier retreat with our data in Fig. 1 shows that it is the glaciers with deep (> 500 m) troughs and recent ice shelf loss that have the greatest elevation loss and mass imbalance (Zgur et al, 2007;Shuman et al, 2011;Rebesco et al, 2014). Recent ice-thickness maps of the tributary glaciers (Starbuck, Flask, and Leppard glaciers) of the still-intact Scar Inlet ice shelf (SIIS) indicate they have unusually deep glacier troughs just behind the grounding line, well in excess of 1000 m below sea level in the case of Flask Glacier, and 500 m below sea level for Starbuck Glacier (Farinotti et al, 2013(Farinotti et al, , 2014.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Scambos¹,

Berthier

Haran³

et al. 2014

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. The northern Antarctic Peninsula (nAP, < 66 • S) is one of the most rapidly changing glaciated regions on earth, yet the spatial patterns of its ice mass loss at the glacier basin scale have to date been poorly documented. We use satellite laser altimetry and satellite stereo-image topography spanning 2001-2010, but primarily 2003-2008, to map ice elevation change and infer mass changes for 33 glacier basins covering the mainland and most large islands in the nAP. Rates of ice volume and ice mass change are 27.7 ± 8.6 km 3 a −1 and 24.9±7.8 Gt a −1 , equal to −0.73 m a −1 w.e. for the study area. Mass loss is the highest for eastern glaciers affected by major ice shelf collapses in 1995 and 2002, where twelve glaciers account for 60 % of the total imbalance. However, losses at smaller rates occur throughout the nAP, at both high and low elevation, despite increased snow accumulation along the western coast and ridge crest. We interpret the widespread mass loss to be driven by decades of ice front retreats on both sides of the nAP, and extended throughout the ice sheet due to the propagation of kinematic waves triggered at the fronts into the interior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Scambos¹,

Berthier

Haran³

et al. 2014

The Cryosphere

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“…Barilari Bay, a western AP fjord visited during the LARISSA NBP10‐01 cruise, is located upwind of and at the same latitude as the former Larsen B ice shelf, allowing for east‐west comparison of Holocene glacial response to oceanic and atmospheric forcing (Figure ). Historical and geologic studies both indicate that while eastern AP changes are driven by atmospheric forcing, as demonstrated by the Holocene history and unprecedented breakup of the Larsen B ice shelf [ Scambos et al ., ; Domack et al ., ; Rebesco et al ., ], the western AP is particularly sensitive to oceanographic forcing [ Cook et al ., ], with high resolution records suggesting variable and episodic incursion of UCDW in the late Holocene [ Ishman and Sperling , ; Shevenell and Kennett , ; Bentley et al ., ; Peck et al ., ].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene glacial activity in Barilari Bay, west Antarctic Peninsula, tracked by magnetic mineral assemblages: Linking ice, ocean, and atmosphere

Reilly

Natter

Brachfeld

2016

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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We investigate the origin and fate of lithogenic sediments using magnetic mineral assemblages in Barilari Bay, west Antarctic Peninsula (AP) from sediment cores recovered during the Larsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica (LARISSA) NBP10‐01 cruise. To quantify and reconstruct Holocene changes in covarying magnetic mineral assemblages, we adopt an unsupervised mathematical unmixing strategy and apply it to measurements of magnetic susceptibility as a function of increasing temperature. Comparisons of the unmixed end‐members with magnetic observations of northwestern AP bedrock and the spatial distribution of magnetic mineral assemblages within the fjord, allow us to identify source regions, including signatures for “inner bay,” “outer bay,” and “northwestern AP” sources. We find strong evidence that supports the establishment of a late Holocene ice shelf in the fjord coeval with the Little Ice Age. Additionally, we present new evidence for late Holocene sensitivity to conditions akin to positive mean Southern Annual Mode states for western AP glaciers at their advanced Neoglacial positions.

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“…This pattern of increased melt over the ice shelves is also part of a larger trend toward higher temperature and melt over the NW Weddell Sea since the late 1940s, which significantly intensified since the 1950s [ Abram et al , ]. The propagation of glacial crevasses caused by the higher surface temperatures and the accumulated meltwater load is thought to have ultimately caused the retreat and structural collapse of these ice shelves in 1995 and 2002 [ Scambos et al , , ], precipitating changes among the cryosphere, ocean, ecosystem, and deposystem [ Gutt et al , ; Rignot et al , ; Scambos et al , ; Cape et al , ; Rebesco et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foehn winds link climate‐driven warming to ice shelf evolution in Antarctica

Cape

Vernet

Skvarca³

et al. 2015

JGR Atmospheres

143

172

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Rapid warming of the Antarctic Peninsula over the past several decades has led to extensive surface melting on its eastern side, and the disintegration of the Prince Gustav, Larsen A, and Larsen B ice shelves. The warming trend has been attributed to strengthening of circumpolar westerlies resulting from a positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), which is thought to promote more frequent warm, dry, downsloping foehn winds along the lee, or eastern side, of the peninsula. We examined variability in foehn frequency and its relationship to temperature and patterns of synoptic-scale circulation using a multidecadal meteorological record from the Argentine station Matienzo, located between the Larsen A and B embayments. This record was further augmented with a network of six weather stations installed under the U.S. NSF LARsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica, project. Significant warming was observed in all seasons at Matienzo, with the largest seasonal increase occurring in austral winter (+3.71 ∘ C between 1962-1972 and 1999-2010). Frequency and duration of foehn events were found to strongly influence regional temperature variability over hourly to seasonal time scales. Surface temperature and foehn winds were also sensitive to climate variability, with both variables exhibiting strong, positive correlations with the SAM index. Concomitant positive trends in foehn frequency, temperature, and SAM are present during austral summer, with sustained foehn events consistently associated with surface melting across the ice sheet and ice shelves. These observations support the notion that increased foehn frequency played a critical role in precipitating the collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf.

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Boundary condition of grounding lines prior to collapse, Larsen-B Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Cited by 52 publications

References 30 publications

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Holocene glacial activity in Barilari Bay, west Antarctic Peninsula, tracked by magnetic mineral assemblages: Linking ice, ocean, and atmosphere

Foehn winds link climate‐driven warming to ice shelf evolution in Antarctica

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